Support for heddle bars



3 s. R. FLOYD SUPPORT FOR HEDDLE BARS Filed March 27, 1939 5/1 UEL Eon/mo /Z are Patented Oct. 10, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFECE SUPPORT FOR HEDDLE BARS Pioneer Atlanta lanta,

Application March 27,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to means for supporting and locking heddle bars in proper position in a heddle frame.

Numerous types of devices are known in the 5 patented and commercial art for supporting and locking heddle bars in place. Many of these known devices have been found faulty and impracticable owing to their complicated construction, cost of manufacture, difficulty of operation 10 when the heddle frame is in the loom and the heddles incorporated therein and the inability of such devices, owing to their construction to withstand long and continued operation without failure. Practice has proven that many types 15 of the known devices fail to function at all times and in some cases are broken to such an extent that a part, if not all of the frame including the heddle bars and heddles are partially or wholly destroyed.

The present invention contemplates the elimination of the faults of the known devices and to this end the present invention comprehends a supporting and locking device which is simple in construction, economical to manufacture and 25 highly efficient in operation over a long period of time without malfunctioning.

When incorporated into a loom the heddle frame, heddle bars and heddles are subjected to a rapid oscillatory motion. As the result of this 30 motion the heddle bars tend to separate laterally or away from each other. Many of the known devices are so constructed and arranged that should the locking element of such devices fail to operate no provision is made to prevent the 35 heddle bars from separating in the manner just described.

An object of the present invention is to construct and arrange a support and lock for heddle bars in such a manner that if the locking 40 element fails in its purpose the heddle bars will still be maintained in their proper spaced relation and restrained against separation or lateral movement.

Other objects of the invention will hereinafter 45 appear in the following detail description and by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which-- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a heddle frame,

partly broken away showing the application of 50 the support and lock for the heddle bar in operating position.

Figure 2 is a View at right angles to Figure 1 showing the heddle bar support and latch in closed position, the heddle bars being shown in 56 section.

Ga., assignor to Incorporated, At- Georgia 1939, Serial No. 264,452

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 2 showing the latch in closed position.

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 2 showing the latch in open position.

Figure 5 is an end view of the locking element illustrating the inturned ends.

The heddle bar support is herein described as applied to the upper horizontal rail of a heddle frame. It will be understood that a similar type of support will be applied to the lower horizontal rail of the heddle frame and operate in the same manner.

As herein illustrated the heddle frame consists of the usual horizontal rails I, usually fashioned from wood, and the vertical side members 2 which serve to maintain the bars I in proper position. The ends of the heddle bars 3 are supported by the end members 2 of the heddle frame in any suitable manner. In heddle frames of substantial length it is usual and in fact desirable to support the heddle bars intermediate their ends by one or more supporting devices to prevent a displacement of the bars and to maintain the heddles in alinement.

To this end the present invention provides a heddle bar support 4 the upper portion of which is formed into a shank 5, suitably screw-threaded as at B. The shank 5 passes through the horizontal rail I and receives a nut I to maintain the support 4 in a rigid position on the rail I.

The lower or body portion of the support consists of two downwardly extending oppositely disposed legs 8 defining the bifurcation I0.

Each leg is slotted or recessed as at II and open to the bifurcation I the dimensions of the slots being such as to freely accommodate, but without substantial lost motion, the heddle bars 3. An opening I I a is formed in the body portion of the support above the bifurcation I0. Between the bifurcation 8 and opening Ila is a cross bar I2 preferably square or polygonal in cross section or provided with at least two substantially flat surfaces arranged at an angle to each other.

A locking element l3 fashioned from resilient material is arranged to swing upon the bar I2. In the embodiment shown the locking element is fashioned from a singl-epiece of resilient material bent upon itself as at I 4 to provide the legs I5. Each of the legs I has outwardly flared portions I6 provided with substantially flat surfaces H which engage the opposite flat surfaces of the cross bar I2. The end of each leg is turned inwardly as at I B, a part of such end portions being preferably cut away as at 20 as shown in Figure 5 so that the inturned ends may assume an interlocking position if desire To assemble the locking member [3 in its properposition on the cross bar 12, the ends l5 are separated or spread apart and the locking element is fitted on the bar l2 whereupon the ends l5 of the locking element are permitted to approach each other and close about the cross bar I2.

Inasmuch as the cross bar I2 is square or polygonal in Cross section and the flared portions l6 of the locking element are fashioned to engage the flat surfaces of the cross bar, as previously described, it will be seen that owing to the resiliency of the ends of the locking member it will maintain itself in full open or closed position.

To look the heddle bars in proper position the locking element is moved to open position as illustrated in Figure 4. The heddle bars are moved so as to occupy the slots or recesses iii whereupon the locking element is depressed and moved to closed position where it lies between the lower ends of the portion 1.

To remove the heddle bars from the supporting device it is only necessary to move the locking element to open position as shown in Figure 4 and this may be readily accomplished by the fingers or a suitable tool without disturbing in any way the heddles in the heddle frame.

Aside from a locking and unlocking of the heddle bars from the supporting device by the simple arrangement above described another important result is obtained. When it is desired to move the heddles longitudinally upon the heddle bar from a position on one side of the support to the other side all that is necessary is that the locking element 13 be moved to open position and the heddle bars moved slightly toward one another, whereupon the heddles can be moved laterally from one side of the support, through the same and to the other side.

If the shank 5 be screw-threaded to receive the nut 1 as previously described it will be advantageous to slot the lower portion of the rail as at 2| to receive the shoulders 22 formed on the body portion of the support above, as shown in Figure 1. This prevents a turning of the support in respect to the heddle rail l and heddle bars 3. Obviously the shank 5 may be threaded in the form of a wood screw and the support may be carried in this fashion by the rail I.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a heddle frame and heddle bars, a heddle bar support provided with a shank engaging the heddle frame and a body portion including downwardly projecting legs provided with inner surfaces defining a bifurcation in the lower part of the body portion, each of said inner surfaces being provided with a recess or slot in communication with said bifurcation, a cross bar connecting said legs and provided with at least two substantially fiat surfaces, an opening formed in the body portion above said cross bar, and a resilient locking element having one end provided with substantially flat inner surfaces and an inturned portion mounted for swinging movement upon said cross bar, said cross bar and flat inner surfaces of the locking element being so constructed and arranged as to hold said locking element in open and closed position.

2. In combination with a heddle frame and heddle bars, a heddle bar support provided with a shank engaging the heddle frame and a body portion including downwardly projecting legs provided with inner surfaces defining a bifurcation in the lower part of the body portion each of said inner surfaces being provided with a slot in communication with said bifurcation, a cross bar provided with at least two substantially fiat surfaces connecting said legs, an opening formed in the body portion above said cross bar and a resilient locking element having one end provided with substantially flat inner surfaces and an inturned portion mounted for swinging movement upon said cross bar, said locking element having a width to substantially close said slots when the locking element is in closed position, said cross bar and fiat inner surfaces of the looking element being so constructed and arranged as to hold said locking element in open and closed position.

3. In combination with a heddle frame and heddle bars, a heddle bar support provided with a shank engaging the heddle frame and a body portion including downwardly projecting legs provided with inner surfaces defining a bifurcation in the lower part of the body portion, each of the inner surfaces being provided with a recess or slot in communication with said bifurcation of such dimensions to receive a heddle bar, a polygonal cross bar provided with at least two substantially flat surfaces connecting said legs, an opening formed in the body portion above said cross bar and a resilient locking element having one end provided with substantially flat inner surfaces and an inturned portion mounted for swinging movement upon said cross bar and in a plane parallel to the plane of the heddle bar, said locking element having a width to substantially close said slots when the locking element is in closed position and to open said slots to the bifurcation when in open and flat inner surfaces of the locking element being so constructed and arranged as to hold said locking element in open and closed position.

SAMUEL ROLAND FLOYD.

position, said cross bar 

